How a Restored 1930s Dutch Mechanical Barrel Organ Uses Cardboard Strips to Play Music

James Dundon, aka The Mechanical Music Man, who previously performed an old-timey cover of Wonder Wall" on Blaujte, his restored 1930s Dutch mechanical barrel organ, took the time to explain how it works. Dunden explained that an electric pulley motor attached to the wheel keeps a pair of bellows moving as the cardboard strips are read to play the pipes.

When a valve opens, compressed air from bellows or another pneumatic system is directed through pipes, producing sound. Different pipes mimic a variety of instruments - flutes, violins, bass trombones - while built-in percussion elements such as bells, drums, and cymbals add rhythm and sparkle, getting toes tapping.

Other Old-Timey Mechanical Organ Music CoversAn Old-Timey Cover of Wonderwall'

An Old Timey Cover of the Oasis Song Wonderwall' Played on an Ornate Mechanical Dutch Street Organ

via Tom Scott

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The post How a Restored 1930s Dutch Mechanical Barrel Organ Uses Cardboard Strips to Play Music was originally published on Laughing Squid.